Blood & Glory: Do Video Games Make Monsters?

Electronic game have been taking the flak for the unexpected increase in teen and childhood violence over the past couple of decades. Everything, from the boost of guns among central city kids to the Columbine disaster, have been blamed on video games. Some United States Senators have actually even attempted to have the entire market banned based on the “fact” that video games turn kids into violent, amoral, sadistic monsters.

Nevertheless, these moralist crusaders tend to ignore the other prospective factors in such a “change.” Exactly what is not often gone over about this concern is the possibility of adult neglect and the predisposition of some children to violence even prior to being exposed to electronic game. Some research studies are now being performed to figure out how video games affect an individual’s mental health, in the hope of getting to the bottom of this “video game debate” at last.

While research study is always needed, there is constantly the possibility that the results of these research studies would be too generalized. For starters, like literature, electronic game have different genres, with each genre having a separate set of core aspects that define how the game is played. For example, the role-playing game (RPG) genre is generally focused on establishing a long, constant plot, hoping to ascend from being a simple game to becoming a sort of psychological financial investment.

Both genres of video games can have totally various results on a person’s mental health, if there is even any effect at all. These games do not automatically turn gamers into sociopaths like Ted Bundy and Jack the Ripper.

Violent video games, according to recent studies, can in fact have other uses. This in fact keys in to what video game players have actually been stating for years, which is that video games make for exceptional stress relief.

Indeed, in contrast to the sales numbers, very few violent incidents have been blamed entirely in electronic game. There is no concrete research study that has been conducted into it, but the anecdotal evidence of countless gamers the world over can attest to just how good a tension relief tool for a person. Yes, there will always be some who will have their mental health affected by playing a video game, however it would be far too easy and far too simple to make a scapegoat of a massive, international market that makes billions every year.

This is especially real when one thinks about that not all games are violent, and not all them encourage causing mass destruction and mayhem. Yes, violence offers video games, however blood and gore do not a hit video game make. For example, the “Final Fantasy” and “Mario” series of video games have both set and broken sales records in the past, however neither of them embrace the very same level of violence as “Grand Theft Vehicle” or “Homeowner Evil.”

Whether video games are a modern-day type of tension relief or a tool for twisting someone’s mental health will likely constantly be a topic of dispute. The dispute constantly tends to neglect other aspects, such as how the games ended up in the hands of children in the very first place. It is illegal to sell a game with an “M” score to somebody listed below 18, which suggests that unless the parent or a similar authority figure bought it for them, there is no other way a child can get their hands on the video game.

Yes, there are those violent and fancy game games, however if a child is spending hours on end in an arcade, does not that imply simply a little bit of parental neglect? Besides, peer pressure and adult impacts can frequently have a more effective result on a kid’s psychological health and social development than whatever was playing on the X-Box 360.